Scalion
by K'lara7
Summary: Ever wonder what that bird on the PK symbol is? Set 7 cycles after PKWs and a prequel to Letting Go, although you don't have to read that one to get this. J/A shippyness warning.


Scalion (G)

Rating: G

Spoilers/Time Frame: 7 or 8 cycles post PKW (a prequel of sorts to Letting Go but that story is totally unnecessary to read this one).

Word Count: 1757

Disclaimer: The characters and universe of Farscape are the property of the Henson Co. I have not made any profit off this tale, and I am giving the characters back the way I found them. (Unfortunately that means they are still fiction.)

A/N: A while back at Terra Firma we had a discussion about that creature on the Command Carrier wall. This started out as an explanation for ADS January challenge. No beta on this one, all mistakes are mine.

It had been a long day and John was looking forward to getting back to Moya. Every few years the Crichtons would rendezvous with Felko's Command Carrier for routine med exams. John had taken the first appointment, and except for a noted lack of aging, he was doing quite well.

Deke, now seven cycles old, had gone next and Chiana had taken him back to Moya to get ready for dinner. Aeryn had insisted that John leave the bay while she had her check-up, so he found himself slouching in the officer's lounge drinking Raslak and staring at some kind of dragon-bird emblem on the bulkhead.

He observed the black and white impression of the same bird on the far wall. The psychologists back home would find some interesting interpretations of those ink-blots. He shook his head at the non-sense tumbling through his mind. This check-up of Aeryn's worried him. She hadn't been herself lately and he was growing concerned. She was such a trooper about any hardship, he found himself shocked when she agreed to be seen by the med tech earlier than normal.

A commotion at the door brought his head up to observe Scorpius standing at the hallway entrance staring out over the crowd. A wave of tension ran through him as he remembered another time he had seen the half-breed in such a position. It was comforting to note that Scorpy had no control of the Aurora chair and no reason to try to probe his mind. Like everyone else, Scorpius thought the wormhole tech gone from his mind.

He sat up at attention when Scorpius sat down across from him. "Hey look what the cat dragged in." Taking a swallow of his drink he said, "Damn, Grasshopper, don't you know when your not wanted?"

"John. It's been a long time."

Wishing for a secret weapon hiding under the table like Han Solo, John replied, "Not long enough. So what brings you to this neck of the woods?"

"I have to deliver my report to the Grand Chancellor in the morning. I heard you were aboard and decided to come see an old friend."

Looking around and back over his shoulder John feigned confusion. "I don't see any of your friends here."

"You know it is you of whom I speak." As Crichton shrugged his shoulders, Scorpius continued, "I decided to take this opportunity to answer a question that has plagued me for years."

"And what would that be?"

"When we first met, you were wearing Captain Larraq's uniform and ident chip. How did you come by them, and what really happened to the good captain?"

Nodding, John answered, "Fair enough. We were out hiding in the Uncharted Territories, minding our own business, when this marauder captain demanded he be allowed on board…" his mind drifted off back those many cycles.

"…And Moya's first stage of starburst ignited his cesium trail and his ship exploded," he finished almost an arn later.

"So you learned of the Gammak Base location from the good captain."

"Yeah."

Slightly puzzled Scorpius asked, "The captain would not have known of our wormhole research." He looked up at Crichton, "How did you learn of what we were doing there?"

John laughed harshly in disbelief. "Has that been bothering you all these cycles? Wow. I never had any idea what the base was for. I had no intention of finding out either. There was no secret agenda. I wasn't there to spy on you."

Scorpius looked confused. "Then why were you there?"

Looking inward, as if back in the moment, he responded, "Larraq, or rather the Virus, stabbed Aeryn. She was dying. Your doctors had the cure. It was a simple plan. Get in, get the tissue sample, get out. Gilina was able to get the sample. Chiana and I were on our way out and would have left the base still completely in the dark about your project."

"So you risked your life for Officer –sorry –Captain Sun? It wasn't because you were trying to create a wormhole?"

"You have always misunderstood me Scorp. I didn't give a damn what you were doing and I still don't. My only purpose in understanding wormholes was to find a way home. And once I realized I was already there, it was too late to put the cat back in the bag."

"I suppose that's why it took you so long to see the necessity of the wormhole weapon."

Shaking his head John answered, "I still don't see the necessity of being able to destroy the galaxy. No one should hold that information."

"But you do."

"Do I?" Closing his eyes and counting to ten he shook his head. Crichton opened his eyes and looked around for a distraction. "Hey Grasshopper," he pointed at the medallion on the wall. "I've always wondered, what is that animal, a bird of some kind?"

"That is a Scallion. They represent control, strength, and destruction. They also warn of impending death. Many thousand cycles ago Sebaceans were a lawless people. They needed order out of chaos. Perhaps this was when the Eidelons disappeared. It is said that that creature united the people into the regimented Peacekeepers they are today."

"So are they real, or mythical?" Crichton asked, not really caring about the answer. He supposed he should know more about Aeryn's heritage, the better to pass it on to their son.

"Oh, I suppose they were once real. There are some archeological records of such beasts on the first five planets of the Peacekeeper Realm. It is where the High Council resides. Now they are merely a remnant of an old religion. I suppose we keep them around to remind us of our purpose: to protect the peace by any means necessary."

"Right. Good to know." He looked up to see Aeryn walking into the lounge. "If you will excuse me Scorp, my wife has just arrived. You'll understand if I prefer her company, won't you?" Scorpius growled as he stood up and left the table.

John stood and pulled Aeryn's chair out for her. She just shook her head at his misplaced human behaviors. Ever since that long ago day when Stark had married them, John felt the need to coddle her. He'd always protected her, even when it made more sense for her to protect him. Now he got the door for her, when one needed to be opened, he pulled her chair out for her, and he always went point on dangerous situations.

She understood it was his culture, and not an insult to her. It was the small things that showed in so many ways how much he cared for her. Once the habits used to irritate her, now they made her feel precious.

Reseating himself, Crichton asked apprehensively, "How did it go?"

She reached out and set her hand on his. "It went well." Scanning the lounge, she added, "I'll tell you all about it when we get back to Moya."

"Okay." He allowed the evasion. She would tell him about the exam when she was ready and not any sooner. He really didn't want to be having that conversation in here anyway. Deciding to change the subject, he asked, "Aeryn, that creature on the wall, it's a Scalion, right?"

"Yes. They represent security, protection, unity and peace; the idea of always being a unit to protect those who are weaker.. It's a mythical creature believed to have restored peace out of the fires of confusion thousands of cycles ago when the world was thrown into chaos." She thought for a moment, and then added, "That would be about the same time the Eidelons were imprisoned in the sleep state."

"Huh." It was amazing how different people viewed the same symbol. Shaking the thought off, Crichton finished his drink and asked, "Did we have anything else we needed to do while we are here?" He said as he stood up.

"Did you meet with the Chancellor?"

"Yeah, I took care of the meet and greet, avoided Grayza, had a drink with Scorpy, picked up some learning materials for Deke and some food supplies. Think of anything I missed?"

"No, that sounds about right. So let's get out of here," she said with a smirk, knowing exactly where they would end up.

"Go, I'm right behind you," he said.

They entered the Center Chamber to find that Chiana had laid out a special dinner for them and made herself scarce. She'd left a note that she had the narl and to enjoy themselves.

John was surprised by this turn of events, but Aeryn took it in stride. "Jothee had a meeting onboard the carrier. So Chiana decided to have third meal with him. They wanted to give Deke a tour of his Assault Piercer."

"And you had nothing to do with that?"

"Of course not. But a good soldier always knows when to take advantage of a situation. The rest of the crew is on shore leave. So what do you want to do to fill the time?"

He looked at her like she was crazy to ask the question. "Well, after you tell me how things went during your check-up, and after dinner of course, maybe we could get back to a discussion we had several cycles ago. The one about you being in my pants. You never did finish telling me—"

She stopped him with a kiss. Quietly she led him over to the table where Chiana had done an impressive job of laying out a romantic candlelight dinner she'd seen in one of those Earth movies.

"So Aeryn, quit stalling and fess up. Is everything alright? You haven't been yourself lately. I've been really worried and now you are avoiding the question."

"Yes, John, I'm fine. In fact, I," she hesitated, "I did something impulsive. I really should have gotten your agreement first, but I didn't want to wait and I figured since you've always said three is the perfect number—" she broke off hesitantly.

"Aeryn, are you pregnant?" he whispered.

She nodded. "I hope you don't mind, but the surgeon has released the stasis. I figured that now would be a good time since we are here and the fewer people who know about the pregnancy the better so I didn't want to wait and come back later to-," he gently put his fingers to her mouth to stop her babbling.

Without a word he leaned over and kissed her, dinner forgotten for the moment.


End file.
